Great Britain's women enjoyed a thrilling victory over Angola in their first match at the Handball Arena in London's Olympic Park.

The sides were locked at 20-20 with under two minutes remaining, but two late goals earned GB an unexpected win.

Angola are the 2011 African Games champions and have qualified for December's World Championships in Brazil, unlike Great Britain.

The home side will take on Austria in their next match on Friday.

Four years ago we hadn't even played a match, so we've made massive progress to beat the African champions

Jesper HolmrisGreat Britain coach

Six nations are taking part in the London Handball Cup as the venue is tested ahead of next summer's Games.

"It was a great performance in a great arena, so it's been a good day for us," GB coach Jesper Holmris told BBC Sport's Nick Hope.

"The home advantage is a big advantage. It's the first time we played an African nation and they are African champions, so it was good for us to see we can compete against them - and there are still nine months to go."

The Dane added: "I'm impressed with our defence; we have to improve our attack, but the British spirit is very strong. I'm looking for our development and four years ago we hadn't even played a match, so we've made massive progress to beat the African champions."

LONDON HANDBALL CUP TEAMS

Angola

Austria

China

Great Britain

Poland

Slovakia

GB captain Lynn McCafferty said: "I'm extremely proud of everyone, we played so good together and there were some really good performances. It was fantastic.

"This is one of the best results we've had. It's our first international match at the arena, so it was a massive step for us to take. Five years ago I might not have thought I'd be here so I'm just happy and looking forward to next year."

And looking ahead to the next match, McCafferty added: "We've played Austria three times before and we've lost three times. We're going for a win on Friday."

China and Slovakia had the honour of playing the first match at the venue, with the Chinese staging a strong second-half comeback to open win 28-26.